So Very Close
by spaceman-earthgirl
Summary: Castle and Beckett are secretly dating and these are the various times they almost get caught. Caskett Fluff.
1. Chapter 1

This is set in the same universe as **It Was Just A Bet **(which you don't have to have read but these one-shots will be set mid season 3 to mid season 4 and Beckett wasn't shot) and is going to be a bunch of one-shots of Castle and Beckett almost getting caught in their relationship during the year they kept it a secret.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett had finished work at a reasonable time this afternoon since they closed the case early so her and Castle had made dinner together at her apartment and then watched a movie. A few hours later, when they were cuddled up in bed together, Beckett's phone rang. Seeing Lanie's name appear on her phone, she answered it, just in case Lanie had been calling about a new murder.

"Hey, what's up?" she said, snuggling back into Castle's side, his arm wrapping back around her.

"Hey. Nothing much, just called to see what you were up to tonight," answered Lanie.

"I..ahh…not much, just curled up in bed with a book, you?" Beckett couldn't very well say what she was actually doing. Lanie didn't even know that Beckett had a boyfriend, let alone that it was Castle.

"Good, so you can come let me in the door then?"

"What?" Beckett asked. Lanie couldn't be at her apartment, not when Castle was here too.

"I'm outside with a bottle of wine. I knocked but you didn't answer so I thought you were out but since you're home, come let me in," replied Lanie, wondering why her best friend was taking so long to understand and come answer the door.

"I mustn't have heard you," Beckett responded. Lanie mustn't have knocked very loudly for Beckett not to have heard it but she had been somewhat…distracted recently.

"Well come on then, are you going to let me in or what?" Lanie was confused now as to why her friend wasn't just opening the door for her.

"Uhhhh…hold on, I'll be right there," said Beckett and then she ended the call.

"Lanie's here," was all Beckett said as she climbed out of bed.

Beckett quickly pulled on some clothes and then rushed out of her room. She glanced around, looking for any evidence that Castle had been there. Noticing that his jacket was draped over the arm of the couch, she grabbed it, tossing it back towards her room as Castle was walking out.

"Stay in there," Beckett hissed, as Castle's jacket hit him in the face. Jacket in hand, he retreated back in to the room, not wanting to be hit with another flying object which was sure to happen if he didn't listen.

With Castle safely hidden away in her room, she opened the door.

"Hey," said Beckett, only opening the door halfway, in case she'd missed something inside her apartment that would give away her secret.

"What's going on, girl?" Lanie asked, trying to get a look around the door, wondering why Beckett was acting so strange and not letting her in.

"Nothing," answered Beckett but it was said far too quickly to convince Lanie that nothing was going on.

Lanie then stepped past Beckett, somehow getting past before she could stop her and then Lanie headed to the kitchen to grab two wine glasses. Lanie really needed to have a talk with her friend, something was different about her lately.

"Are you going to tell me what's been up with you lately?" asked Lanie, as she was pouring two glasses of wine.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," answered Beckett, although she knew Lanie would see right through her lie.

"You're different, happier. Don't tell me you've been hiding a man from me?" Lanie teased while handing Beckett one of the glasses.

Beckett's blush told Lanie everything she needed to know.

"Oh my god, you are!" Lanie exclaimed, excited about this new piece of information, "So, who is he?"

It was then that Lanie noticed the two sets of dishes in the sink. And while she had seen one empty wine glass on the counter when she walked in, she just now saw another one sitting on the coffee table.

"He's here, isn't he? That's why you didn't hear me knocking," Lanie said, knowing she was right and laughing as she continued, "and he's hiding in your room!"

"Lanie, I…" there was no point denying it, Lanie had figured out she had a new boyfriend, but she wasn't about to tell her friend that it was Castle, "Ok fine, I have a boyfriend, you happy now?"

"Yes, and I want to meet this mystery man since he's made you so happy." Lanie had to know who this guy was.

Just then Beckett's phone rung for the second time that night, this time though it was Ryan, and he informed her that they'd received a new case.

"You're lucky this time," said Lanie, after receiving a similar phone call about a dead body, "but don't think I don't want details later," she continued, giving Beckett a look that told her she was going to have to tell her everything later.

Lanie then left to head to the crime scene, saying she'd meet Beckett there. Beckett breathed a sigh of relief. Her and Castle had only been dating a month and while she knew that the relationship was what she wanted, she wasn't yet ready to go public with it just yet. She knew she'd have to tell Lanie eventually but for right now, she was enjoying having Castle all to herself.

Castle came out of her room at that point, walking up behind her and circling his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest. She relaxed back into him, enjoying the comfort his closeness gave her.

"We got a case?" he asked, whispering the words into her ear.

"Yeah," she replied, sinking back further into his chest.

They stood there for a few minutes in silence before Beckett reluctantly pulled away.

"Come on, we better get going before they start to wonder where we are," said Beckett, and so Castle released his arms from around Beckett's waist and they both went to get dressed.

Once they were both acceptably dressed to go out in public, they left for the crime scene. In separate cars of course.

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Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought :)

This will be updated whenever I have an idea for a chapter so if you have any suggestions or things you'd like to see in future chapters, let me know :)


	2. Chapter 2

These one shots aren't going to be in order, just to let you know, but in each chapter (or at the beginning) I'll say when it's set. This is set mid season 3.

Thanks to everyone who favourited/followed/reviewed the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy this one!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett was nervous. Even though she'd been alone with Castle on numerous occasions, tonight was different. Tonight they were out on a date, their first official date in fact. While Castle had wanted to take her out to a flash restaurant for their first date, Beckett wanted something more special to them. He had suggested they have a drink together at The Old Haunt before going out for pizza and Beckett had accepted. The Old Haunt was a good choice because it had both meaning to them and they'd been their enough together that no one would notice them there this evening.

They'd met at the bar at 7, giving them both enough time after work to get changed into something more appropriate for a date. Beckett had changed into jeans and a nice top while Castle chose dark coloured jeans and a deep blue shirt. They chose not to dress up too much so they wouldnt draw attention to themselves.

Castle couldn't believe that Beckett had finally said yes to him. After she'd accepted his offer of a date, he asked her again just to check he'd heard her correctly. When she'd confirmed that yes, they were going out on a date, Castle couldn't stop the butterflies that erupted in his stomach.

When Castle had asked her out on a date that night, she hadn't hesitated in her answer. She'd decided recently that she had to get over her fear. There was a handsome, kind, funny, loving man that cared a lot about her and he wanted to go out with her. As scared as she was, she couldn't deny she had feelings for him any longer so she'd said yes. She'd even had to tell him that is was a date that she'd accepted because he didn't seem to believe it was real.

So now they both sat across from each other at a table, talking as they had a beer. Neither could believe how comfortable they felt together since now they both knew that there was the possibility for more in their relationship. They been talking for about half an hour when a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Beckett?"

"Jenny, hi, what are you doing here?" Beckett asked, not having seen Jenny enter the bar, they hadn't had time to hide. They hoped that Jenny wouldn't find it weird that she was out with Castle, not that that would be weird since they were friends after all. Normally she wouldn't have cared if anyone saw her out and assumed she was dating Castle, but since this was a date, she didn't really want people to know yet.

"Bachelorette party, this is the first bar on our list for the evening. What are you two doing here?" Jenny asked, eyeing the two suspiciously.

"Just having a drink after work, it's been a long day," said Beckett which was actually completely true. Shee didn't really want to lie to Jenny but she knew she was going to have to.

"I thought Kevin said you had a date tonight? He said you seemed all excited about it?" asked Jenny, and Beckett's cheeks turned rather red at the comment.

Castle had left early that afternoon to help Alexis with a homework assignment so he'd missed how excited Beckett had been thinking about her date that night. She'd told the guys it was no big deal but they knew better, they just hadn't known it was with Castle.

"You were excited about your date tonight, were you?" Castle asked smugly. He couldn't help it, he was just glad Beckett had apparently been just as excited as he was.

"Maybe a little," Beckett replied, her cheeks still a dark red colour, and then realizing what it must look like to Jenny, she continued, "I'm meeting him at 8 for pizza."

"Sounds like an exciting date," said Jenny, laughing because Beckett was blushing even more.

"Is that why you have to leave early, to go on a pizza date?" asked Castle, now teasing Beckett, "He must be a great guy for you to be so excited about pizza." Castle knew that pizza and beer wasn't a great first date but he was more interested in the person it was with than where their date would be and he knew Beckett felt the same.

"Or I'm just really hungry and love pizza," said Beckett, teasing Castle back. Jenny looked between the two of them, wondering what was going on with them today, they seemed different.

"I better get back to my friends, but have fun on your date Beckett," said Jenny smiling before she turned and left. Something was definitely up with those two and she made a note to ask Ryan about it later.

"That was close," said Beckett, "Do you think she suspected anything?"

"I'm not sure but if she tells Ryan then he'll be suspicious, especially after you were so excited about your date tonight," answered Castle, teasing her again.

"Don't deny it, I know you were just excited as I was about tonight," answered Beckett, deciding not to try and deny it. She liked him and wanted to show him that she did, not hide it like she used to.

"You know I'm excited about tonight, I've been waiting a long time for you to agree to go out with me," answered Castle, smiling at Beckett, and then he continued, "and if Ryan does say anything then we can just say you have a boyfriend since he already knew you were going out on a date tonight." Lucky for them it was several months until Ryan did actually ask Beckett if she had a boyfriend.

"Are you saying you're my boyfriend, Castle? We haven't even finished our first date," Beckett said, laughing as Castle turned red.

"Well I was hoping…maybe…one day soon that I would be," Castle finished, now not meeting Beckett's eyes. He hadn't wanted to rush things and scare her off and then he'd gone and said something like that.

Beckett looked over to where Jenny was and saw that she had her back to them so she quickly reached across the table, taking Castle's hand in her own.

The feel of Beckett's hand in his made him look back up at her with a questioning look.

"I was hoping that one day soon you'd be my boyfriend too," said Beckett, smiling as the shocked look on Castle's face turned into a smile too.

Beckett squeezed his hand before letting go again, she didn't want Jenny to catch them. Noticing that it was almost 8 and Jenny was still there, they got up to leave so Jenny would still think she had a date that night.

They walked a few blocks to a pizza place where they ate before Castle dropped Beckett home. He walked her upstairs, to her door, not wanting to say goodbye but he knew he had to. He'd wanted to kiss her all night but instead of kissing her like he wanted, he kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Until tomorrow, Kate," he whispered in her ear before he turned and left.

Beckett stared after him as he walked down the hallway, too shocked to move before a smile spread across her face. She'd expected him to at least give her a proper kiss but this was so much sweeter. She knew he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him and she vowed that on their next date, she'd do just that.

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If there's anything you want to see happen in future chapters just let me know :)

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review and let me know what you thought. My tumblr is spaceman-earthgirl where I'll be posting updates on what I'm writing if anyone is interested.


	3. Chapter 3

Remember, these aren't in chronological order. I'm also writing a time travel Caskett fic called Seeing Double if anyone is interested.

Thanks to everyone who favourited/followed/reviewed so far, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett was sitting at her desk doing paperwork. It had been a slow day today and she was thoroughly bored without Castle here to annoy her. Castle had a chapter due so he'd been stuck at home working on it all day. The plus side of that is if he can finish by this evening, they were going to have dinner together. Just then Beckett's phone rang and she smiled when she saw who was calling.

"Hey you," Beckett answered, glad he'd called even though she should be working.

"Hey yourself," Castle replied, happy to just hear her voice after not seeing her all day, although he was lucky enough to wake up with her in his arms this morning. He'd hated having to stay at home while she was at the precinct, he missed her already. Beckett had been missing Castle just as much as he'd been missing her and if he hadn't called her, she would have called him just to hear his voice.

"Shouldn't you be working?" she asked, careful not to say writing instead or say anything else that would give away who she was talking to. Her and Castle had been dating for a few months now but were still keeping it a secret. The only people that knew were her father and his mother and daughter.

"Shouldn't you?" he countered, and she laughed, it always amazed her how easily he could get her to laugh.

XXX

Ryan needed to talk to Beckett about their most recent case and as he approached her desk, he heard her laugh and stopped. He couldn't see her face as he was standing behind her but that had been Beckett laugh, right? He saw she was on her phone and wondered who she was talking to. He assumed it was Castle since he hadn't come into work today. He knew he shouldn't keep listening but he couldn't help it, he wanted proof of who she was talking to.

XXX

"We still on for tonight?" Castle asked, wishing time would go faster so it could be evening already and he could see her.

"Dinner?" she asked, and then continued, "as long as you get all your work done."

"Is that your way of telling me to hang up the phone and get back to work?" he asked, although he'd only been talking to her for a minute and didn't want to hang up just yet.

"Wait, no," she paused, "not just yet," another pause "I miss you," she said nervously, still hesitant in voicing such things. She had to keep her voice down since she was in the middle of the precinct and she didn't want anyone overhearing the conversation she was having, whether they knew who was on the other end of the line or not.

He smiled when he heard those words escape her lips, the ones he'd been thinking but had been hesitant to say too, "I miss you too."

She smiled widely then, she couldn't contain it. She loved the way her heart filled when he said things like that. And she also loved him, had before they even started dating, although she hadn't told him that just yet. She wasn't ready to say the words out loud.

"I'll see you at 7 then?" Beckett asked, and then she continued, "We're going to watch a movie afterwards too." he really enjoyed dinner and movie nights with Castle.

"And a movie?" asked Castle, not about to say no to a reason to cuddle Kate on the couch while watching a movie.

"Yup," she said, dragging out the P sound and trying not to smile too much in case she caught someones attention. Come to think of it actually, where were the boys? Castle speaking distracted her enough that she didn't look around for them.

"You just want to snuggle on the couch, don't you?" asked Castle, teasing evident in his voice.

"I know it's you who wants you snuggle, and who am I to deny you what you want?" replied Beckett, teasing back, and images of Beckett in his bed flashed through his mind.

"You know what I want," answered Castle, his voice a bit rougher than before.

"Stop," said Beckett, almost adding Castle to the end of that but caught herself just in time, "save it for later," Beckett continued. She was distracted enough as it was by him, she didn't need him saying things like that, fuelling her thoughts.

"I'll see you tonight," she said, reluctant to go but she really had to very back to work if she was to be finished by tonight.

"I can't wait," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She even knew exactly what smile it was, one he saved just for her.

She hung up the phone, still smiling and wishing it was tonight already. She jumped when she was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice behind her.

XXX

Snuggling on the couch? Who was this and what had she done with Detective Beckett? Espo had joined him and they'd both been listening intently to Beckett's side of the conversation, wishing they knew who she was talking to.

"Beckett, is there something you want to tell us?" asked Ryan, and both him and Esposito were giving her suspicious looks.

"I..ahhh..." Beckett didn't know what to say. What had they heard? She thought back over her conversation and tried to think if she'd said anything that would give away their secret. She couldn't think of anything incriminating that she'd said so she figured she'd go for half the truth.

"I have a boyfriend, okay?" said Beckett, hoping that would be enough of the truth for now.

"Okay," said both Ryan and Esposito although they were still looking at her suspiciously. She wouldn't know if they knew anything until they brought it up though. Her and Castle would just have to be extra careful in the future, maybe tell a few lies to throw them off their trail. As much as she hated lying to her boys, she'd have to if they wanted to keep their relationship a secret. Their secret would come out eventually but as for now, she was enjoying having Castle all to herself.

"And now if you don't mind, I have paperwork to get back to," said Beckett, stopping any more questions they had for her. She knew they'd just ask them later but she didn't want them to ruin her good mood right now, and she did have paperwork to finish before tonight.

As Ryan was talking to her about their most recent case, she kept glancing at the clock, she really couldn't wait for tonight.

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Anything you want to see in future chapters? Just let me know :)

Thanks for reading and review?


	4. Chapter 4

A huge thanks to everyone who favourited/followed/reviewed so far, I really appreciate it.

Edit: Just thought I'd clarify, these aren't in order so this one takes place about a week after chapter one. Sorry if anyone was confused.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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So maybe morning sex hadn't been the best idea. They'd then had to rush to get ready and it made them even later since they had to take separate cars to the crime scene. So now Lanie was giving her a knowing look as she tried to subtly fix her hair. Luckily, Castle looked more put together than her, arriving 5 minutes after she did with coffee in hand.

Lanie had pulled her aside afterwards and asked her how her night had been to which Beckett just blushed.

"Right now we have work but I want details later," said Lanie, and Beckett knew she was going to have to tell her everything later, well everything except that she was dating Castle. Lanie still didn't know, no one did. It had only been a week since Lanie had shown up at her apartment and Castle had been there. She was going to be even more curious now and Beckett needed to come up with a fake boyfriend and fast.

This morning was not going well, or it had been until she'd been called into work, she thought as she took a sip of the delicious coffee Castle had brought her.

Her morning only got worse when she realised she'd lost her phone. It got even worse when Castle called it, trying to find out where it was and his mother had answered.

XXX

Martha wasn't stupid, she knew her son was seeing someone new and had guessed that that person was Katherine Beckett. She wasn't sure if Alexis knew yet but she was going to keep it quiet until he told her. They were obviously trying to hide their relationship but she'd be surprised if Alexis didn't know already as well.

Finding Detective Beckett's phone on their kitchen bench when it hadn't been there the night before was a dead giveaway. And now it was ringing and she thought she could have fun with this when she saw it was her son calling.

"Detective Beckett's phone," Martha answered, trying not to laugh when she heard her son spluttering on the other end of the line.

XXX

Castle didn't know what to say and Beckett looked on worried, wondering who had answered her phone.

"It's my mother," mouthed Castle and Beckett face took on the same shocked expression that Castle's was currently wearing. Luckily they'd been alone when he made the call because otherwise this would be more awkward than it already was.

"Rick, is that you?" his mother asked, and he heard the laughter she was trying to hide. She knew and she was just teasing him. There was no point in denying it, both that it was him on the phone and that they were a couple.

"How long have you known?" he asked, he thought they'd been pretty careful with keeping their secret but apparently not.

"Since the first time she snuck out of here I knew you were seeing someone. I'd guessed it was Katherine but now I know it was her who you tried to sneak out of here this morning as well," answered Martha, not even trying to contain her laughter now.

"Have you told Alexis?" asked Castle, his first concern his daughter, he was waiting for the perfect time to tell her.

"No, I figured you'd want to do that," Martha replied, knowing that he wouldn't keep it from his daughter for much longer.

Castle breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he'd have to tell his daughter soon and now he decided he would, very soon.

"Tell Detective Beckett her phone is in safe hands," said Martha before hanging up, but only after having decided that they'd pick the phone up on their way to the precinct from the crime scene.

XXX

It was decided now, Castle would tell his daughter tonight about their relationship and Beckett had just got off the phone after organizing to meet with her father to tell him about the new relationship she was in. They weren't going to tell any of their friends yet, although Lanie suspected Beckett had a boyfriend, no one knew about Castle's new girlfriend. They weren't ready yet to tell everyone but they wanted to share their relationship with their families, not wanting to hide something that made them both so happy.

They both left the precinct that night feeling good about telling the people closest to them about the step they had taken to becoming more than partners.

XXX

Alexis wondered what her father wanted to talk to her about but she didn't push him for what is was, waiting until he said it in his own time. He seemed to be struggling to find the right words and she thought it may have something to do with how different he'd been lately. She couldn't deny that he'd been happier recently and she thought it may have something to do with the fact that he was spending even more time with Detective Beckett than usual.

"I'm seeing someone," he finally blurted out while they were halfway through dessert and Alexis was surprised he'd taken this long to say what he'd been obviously wanted to.

"Okay," she replied, "Are you going to tell me who it is?" Her father usually kept his social life separate from her so if he was telling Alexis about who he was dating, she must be someone special. Of course this was just confirming what she'd already suspected, that he was dating his muse.

"You really want to know?" he asked, and while he would have to tell her eventually, he was giving her an out if she didn't want to know now.

"Is it Detective Beckett?" asked Alexis, and the look on her father's face made her laugh.

Castle was shocked, had they really been that bad at sneaking around?

"I can tell how you feel about her by the way you look at her and while that hasn't changed recently, now she looks at you the same way," she continued after he'd just sat their with the shocked expression on his face. Her words surprised Castle, he thought maybe she'd caught them sneaking out one morning but that wasn't the case. He wondered what look Alexis had seen because Beckett had always looked at him the way she does now.

"Are you okay with that? Me dating Beckett I mean?" asked Castle once he'd recovered and not wanting to do anything his daughter didn't like.

"I've seen how happy she makes you and if you're happy, I'm happy," replied Alexis, smiling at her father.

Castle stood up then, wrapping his daughter in a tight hug and kissing her on the head. He was glad that Alexis was okay with his new relationship and he hoped one day the three of them could be a family.

XXX

Beckett was nervous, her father was over for dinner and she was about to tell him about her new relationship with Castle. She wanted to share with him that part of her life, the part that was making her so happy, and she hoped that he'd see past Castle's public persona and be willing to take the chance to get to know Castle himself.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Jim once they were sitting down having dinner. He'd been wondering what his daughter had to tell him ever since she called earlier. He could tell she was different, happier it seemed, and wondered if what she had to say had anything to do with that.

"I have a boyfriend," replied Beckett, noticing the shocked expression on her father's face that he couldn't hide fast enough.

"You have a boyfriend?" he asked, wanting to clarify. She wasn't one to normally share things like this so if she really did have a boyfriend, he must mean a lot to her if they were having this conversation.

"Yes," she replied, now trying to ascertain what her father was thinking but his expression was unreadable.

"Who is he?" Jim asked when she didn't elaborate.

She hesitated a second, hoping her father wouldn't judge Castle on what she'd previously said about him, "Richard Castle."

"The author?" asked her father incredulously, after what she'd told him about Mr Castle, he never thought she'd end up in a relationship with him, it always sounded like she didn't like him whenever they spoke. "The same Richard Castle that follows you around and annoys you endlessly at work?"

"One and the same," she replied, a small smile on her face now as she remembered the last time she'd complained about Castle to her father.

"I assume your previous dislike for the man is no longer the case?" Jim asked, smiling himself after seeing the look on her face.

"He still gets on my nerves sometimes but things have certainly changed between us since we met," Beckett replied, still smiling.

"You love him?" Jim asked, surprising Beckett, was she really that easy to read?

"Yes," she replied without hesitating. She hadn't told Castle that yet but one day soon she would.

"Okay, well if you're happy, then I'm happy," said Jim, reaching across the table and squeezing his daughter's hand.

Jim could tell by the look in his daughter's eyes that she was in love and it was something he was glad to see while her mother's murder was still unsolved and he was happy that Mr Castle could now help her with that too. He was thankful that his daughter had someone to support her and to lean on. He wanted to meet the man though, to make sure that he was worthy of being with his daughter but he trusted her judgment and was sure the writer was as much in love with his daughter as she was with him.

They spent the rest of the meal talking and laughing, Jim telling her stories she'd forgotten from when she was young and Beckett telling stories about cases she'd worked with Castle and by the end of the evening he could truly tell how in love she was.

Beckett was glad that she'd had this evening with her father and happy that he finally knew about the man that was making her so happy. While her and Castle hadn't been dating for long yet and their relationship was still new, Beckett was in love with Castle and had been even before they'd started dating and that love was growing more and more each day.

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Any suggestions for future chapters? Just leave a review to let me know :)

Thanks for reading and review?


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to everyone who favourited/followed/reviewed. I will eventually get around to replying to all your lovely reviews when I find the time.

Set six months into their relationship.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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This could not be happening, this could not be real. Beckett was panicking and as soon as she told Castle, he started panicking too. They were on their way to a crime scene but this was no ordinary crime scene, this was the place they had celebrated their six month anniversary together.

Since they were still keeping their relationship a secret, they had gone to a small, rather private restaurant. The problem was that that had been three days ago and now they were on their way to that very restaurant where one of the cooks had been murdered sometime during the night. The owner would obviously recognize Castle, but the question was whether he'd recognise Beckett or not.

Beckett had told Ryan that she'd pick up Castle on the way to the crime scene so it didn't matter that they were arriving together. In truth, Beckett had spent the night at Castle's which had become more frequent these past few months but their friends didn't know that.

Now they were discussing what they would do when they arrived. If luck was on their side, then they wouldn't even have to speak to the owner or the staff, the boys would handle that, but they both highly doubted that would happen. Hopefully if they recognized Castle, which was likely to happen, maybe they wouldn't recognize Beckett as she was dressed very differently the other night. She'd been wearing a dress with her hair all done up whereas now she was wearing trousers, a shirt and her hair was down so hopefully that'd be enough that she wouldn't be recognized. If she was, there was also the possibility that the staff wouldn't say anything but that seemed unlikely.

"What are we going to do?" asked Beckett, officially freaking out. They'd made it this long without revealing their relationship and neither of them were ready just yet to let their friends know their secret.

"Maybe they won't recognise us and everything will be fine?" replied Castle, but they both knew that was too much to hope for.

"Is it too late to call in sick?" joked Beckett, but knowing there was no way out of this.

"Well if Mr Carroll is here, and he's bound to be since he's the owner, he'll recognize me and I can easily say I was here on a date if he brings up the other night. As long as no one mentions you were there we'll be fine," said Castle, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation and keep Beckett calm at the same time.

"What am I meant to do Castle, hide the entire time so that no one sees me? I have a job to do," replied Beckett, the panic getting worse the closer they got. She knew their relationship would come out eventually and it wasn't that she wasn't serious about her relationship with Castle, she just wanted to keep him to herself for a bit longer.

"You look different, maybe they won't recognize you with your hair down," said Castle, trying to calm Beckett down again even though he was panicking himself.

"But what if they do, and something is said and the boys hear it? I'm not ready just yet for everyone to know."

"Well if they do find out we'll handle it, it was bound to come out sometime, right?" he said as he put a reassuring hand on her arm.

They'd arrived at the scene now so the discussion had to stop as they got out of the car. Lanie gave them the facts and she was about to tell the boys to go talk to the other workers when Mr Carroll spotted them and before they could make a quick getaway, he was at their side.

"Mr Castle, what are you doing here?" asked Mr Carroll, of course recognizing Castle straight away.

"I'm working with the NYPD," Castle replied, knowing the boys would be wondering how Mr Carroll already knew Castle.

"Of course, for your books. Well it's good to see you again so soon, but I'd obviously prefer if these weren't the circumstances," replied Mr Carroll.

Mr Carroll then explained to them what he knew about the murder and where he'd been at the time. All the while, Beckett was avoiding eye contact and trying not to draw attention to herself, letting Castle do the questioning which she usually wouldn't do.

They thought they may have gotten away with it, Mr Carroll not even having mentioned his date the other night, just that he knew Castle, but his parting remark was enough to make Castle and Beckett groan internally.

"I hope this incident won't deter you from bringing your future dates here, Mr Castle," said Mr Carroll before shaking Castle's hand and leaving.

Esposito saw the panicked look on Castle's face but thankfully he hadn't seen Beckett's equally panicked expression.

"A date, Castle? Is there something you're not telling us?" asked Esposito. Castle had obviously been hoping that piece of information would stay private and the boys wondered why.

"I..ahhh…" Castle couldn't find the words to lie about his date a few nights ago.

"You didn't tell me you had a date," Beckett said, recovering first and doing her best to look as unaffected by this piece of information as possible.

"A secret date. What are you trying to hide?" asked Ryan, joining in on teasing Castle.

"Just a date guys, that's all," replied Castle, finally finding his voice.

"Who was she then?" asked Esposito, wondering why Castle was holding out on them and why he'd looked so panicked when they'd found out. Maybe he hadn't wanted Beckett to know?

"No one you know, and it doesn't matter. Don't we have a case to solve?" His tone said that this discussion was over. He hadn't been able to come up with a lie quick enough, all his thoughts from earlier vanishing. The only thing he could think of doing was ending the conversation quickly so he'd have time to form a proper lie for when they'd inevitably ask again.

Ryan and Esposito decided they'd question him later about it, maybe it was just the fact that Beckett was there. Whether that was the case of not, they'd get answers later.

The boys left then, going to interview the other workers as Castle and Beckett were going to go see the victim's family. They were almost at Beckett's car when Mr Carroll stepped in front of them, blocking their path.

"Don't worry Mr Castle, Detective Beckett, your secret is safe with me," said Mr Carroll, winking at them.

"How..?" Castle trailed off as Mr Carroll continued.

"I knew who you were since the moment you stepped into my restaurant with Mr Castle. It's popular knowledge that you both work together and I recognized you immediately," replied Mr Carroll, talking to Beckett, before his tone became more serious. "And I know you'll do everything you can to find Fred's killer. He was a great man and didn't deserve this."

Beckett and Castle just starred after Mr Carroll as he turned and left.

XXX

They did catch the killer. Two days later they'd made an arrest, a waiter from the restaurant.

Mr Carroll turned up at the precinct once he'd heard the news that there'd been an arrest. He'd thanked their team for catching the killer and then told Castle, in front of the boys, to bring his girlfriend to the restaurant anytime.

That had set the boys off, demanding answers from Castle about his secret girlfriend.

Beckett was relieved that Mr Carroll hadn't mentioned her name and just shook her head at Ryan and Esposito's interrogation of Castle.

After realizing she could do nothing to help Castle, she mouthed "Sorry" and sat down to get a start on the paperwork as Castle tried to come up with lies about his supposed girlfriend. At least if everyone thought he had a girlfriend, they'd stop assuming something was going on between the two of them, even if that assumption was correct.

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Thanks for reading! Review? Also, I've written a few other Castle fics if you're interested.

Tumblr: **spaceman-earthgirl **where I post story updates too.


	6. Chapter 6

Wow, almost at 50 reviews, you guys are awesome. A big thanks to everyone who favourited and followed as well, I really appreciate the support.

This chapter is set not long after chapter 5.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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"Are you okay that Castle has a girlfriend?" asked Lanie, after Beckett had handed her a glass of wine.

They were having a girls night, just the two of them, after Lanie had heard from Ryan and Esposito that Castle had a girlfriend and had wanted to make sure her friend was okay. Beckett did have a boyfriend, not that Lanie had met him yet, but she was still concerned for her friend because she knew Beckett had some feelings for Castle, whether she'd admit it or not.

"Of course I am, I have a boyfriend, remember?" replied Beckett, still not ready to tell her friend about Castle just yet.

"I know that sweetie, but there's always been something between you and Castle and I just want to make sure you're okay," answered Lanie, she wasn't going to give up on this.

That almost made Beckett tell Lanie the truth, almost.

"Castle and I, we just missed our chance together. At a time I did think that maybe we'd be something eventually but it just never happened," replied Beckett and in all honesty, that was the very reason she'd accepted Castle's offer for a date in the first place. After he'd left for the Hamptons, she'd been heartbroken and thought they'd missed their chance. So given a second one, she didn't want to let the opportunity pass her by again and she hasn't regretted her choice for a minute. In fact, it's one of the best choices she's ever made and she couldn't be happier.

And that's why she lied to Lanie. She knew Castle was her one and done but she wanted to keep him to herself a bit longer. She didn't want the public to know yet and while she knew Lanie could keep a secret and she did trust her, she just wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible. She was enjoying sneaking around and having Castle to herself far too much and didn't want it to end. Plus, she wasn't sure how the captain would feel about them working together if they were in a relationship so it was best for everyone if they just kept their relationship a secret.

"And you're okay with that?" asked Lanie, she had to be sure.

"Yes, I'm happier now than I have been in a long time and I wouldn't change that for anything. I have no regrets," replied Beckett and Lanie could see that her friend was truly happy and it seemed that that had something to do with her mystery guy so she let the conversation drop, for now at least. Later, she'd ask her about said mystery guy, but she'd wait until they had a bit more alcohol in them first, Beckett was more likely to talk then.

XXX

After about an hour of talking, laughing and wine, there was a knock at Beckett's door and she was surprised when she looked through the peephole and saw Castle on the other side. He'd been having a boys night with Ryan and Esposito while she was with Lanie. She'd planned on going over to the loft later so she hadn't expected him to turn up at her place.

"Castle?" Beckett asked once she'd answered the door, opening it wide enough so that he could see Lanie. She wasn't entirely sure why he was here but she couldn't help smiling when she saw his face anyway.

_Writer boy, what's he doing here,_ thought Lanie when she saw who was behind the door when Beckett had opened it.

"Heey," replied Castle, drawing out the e sound and she knew instantly that he'd been drinking.

"What are you doing here?" asked Beckett, hoping Castle's answer didn't give anything away.

"I just wanted to see you," replied Castle and she knew without even turning around what look would be on Lanie's face right now.

"Okay," replied Beckett, not really knowing how to respond to that with Lanie within hearing distance.

She was about to say more when Castle swayed on his feet, having to grab the door frame to balance himself.

"Come in," said Beckett, taking Castle's arm and not really caring what Lanie was thinking about this anymore since Castle was obviously drunk and needed her help, she was surprised that he'd even made it here on his own.

She walked Castle into her apartment and sat him on the couch while Lanie got a glass of water after Beckett had asked her to.

"What are you doing here?" Beckett asked again, whispering this time so only Castle could hear.

"I missed you," said Castle, reaching up to place a hand on her cheek but dropped it when he saw Lanie walking up behind Beckett.

Beckett stepped back then, out of Castle's reach but took the glass of water from Lanie and turned back to Castle, grabbing his hand and putting the glass in it.

"Drink," she said, giving Castle a look before turning back to Lanie.

"Sorry," she said to her friend, "It looks like our night might be over, I have no idea what he's doing here."

"I'm sleepy," said Castle suddenly, placing his empty glass on the coffee table and lying down on the couch.

"Oh no you don't," said Beckett, grabbing Castle's arm and pulling it so he was sitting upright again, "I'm taking you home." All of this was just a show, she planned on getting rid of Lanie and then letting Castle sleep in her bed, he was in no state to be going home anyway.

"Fine then," said Castle, not understanding what Beckett was trying to do and he quickly stood up, swaying a bit and having to grab Beckett's arm for balance. Once he was stable, he turned and headed straight for Beckett's room.

Lanie was in hysterics now watching the scene unfold before her, Beckett had gone from trying to get Castle to go home to him heading towards her bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Beckett asked, still trying to maintain at least some control over the situation.

"To sleep," replied Castle, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Beckett was left to stare after him, unsure what to do now while Lanie was still laughing.

"Do you mind if we call it a night? It looks like now I have to deal with that," asked Beckett, gesturing towards her bedroom which Castle was now.

"Okay fine, but you're going to tell me everything that happens tonight, right?" Lanie asked, giving her a suggestive look.

"Lanie, we're both in relationships and like I said before, we just missed our chance," replied Beckett, hoping Lanie would believe her.

"But didn't you hear him, he wanted to see you?" answered Lanie, not giving up. She knew something was going on here but she just didn't know what.

"He's drunk okay? I'll let him sleep it off here and then he'll go home tomorrow morning and that's the end of it," replied Beckett, hoping that was enough of an explanation for Lanie.

"But you'll tell me if anything does happen?" asked Lanie, now more just teasing Beckett than anything else.

"Lanie!" answered Beckett, voice getting higher which caused Lanie to laugh.

"Okay fine, I'm going," Lanie said as she grabbed her purse and headed towards the door.

"We'll have another girls night soon, okay?" asked Beckett, feeling bad about having to cut the evening short but feeling even worse because she was lying to her friend.

"Of course, have fun dealing with him," Lanie replied and then she was out the door.

Beckett breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door and leant against it, glad that their secret was still, well, a secret.

She walked into her room and found Castle sprawled across her bed. He'd managed to get his shirt and shoes off but his jeans were still on and she couldn't help but think how cute he looked, snoring lightly against her pillow. She could question him tomorrow about why he'd turned up drunk on her doorstep when he'd known Lanie was there, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to curl up against his side and sleep. So that's exactly what she did.

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Thoughts?


	7. Chapter 7

I really appreciate the support you guys have given me so far for this fic, it keeps me inspired to write!

******Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Nine months, her and Castle had been secretly dating for nine months and sometimes she still found it hard to believe. Not that they were still together of course, she was in this forever, but the fact that they'd both finally got their acts together and decided to give this thing between them a chance.

They were lying in bed together, just like any other normal night, she was curled up against his side and had her head resting on his bare chest. They were both on the verge of sleep when Castle whispered four little words that changed everything.

"Move in with me?" he mumbled into her hair after pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes opened wide, he hadn't really meant to say them out loud. He'd been wanting to ask her for a while and that's what he'd been thinking about when he accidentally blurted the words out. He meant them of course, he just didn't think she was ready for that yet.

Had she heard right? Had Castle just asked her to move in with him? She lifted her head off Castle's chest, looking up at him with a shocked expression on her face.

Before she even had a chance to answer however, Castle was speaking again. "Never mind, forget it."

He hadn't even meant to ask, he was just so happy and it slipped out. He'd taken Beckett's shocked reaction as she wasn't ready for the next step in their relationship but in truth, she just hadn't expected him to ask like this. She was going to say yes, and if he hadn't spoken, she would have.

She took his quick take back of the words as him not actually having meant it. She knew that he loved her, but a tiny part of her still believed that she wasn't good enough, that he would get bored of her and move on. She knew this wasn't true but it was that part of her that had told her that Castle had taken it back because he didn't mean it.

Beckett didn't say anything, just put her head back on Castle's chest but she couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by what he'd said.

Beckett hadn't run, thought Castle, so that was a good sign. He thought he'd done the right thing by taking back his question but it had only made things worse.

XXX

Beckett didn't get much sleep that night, Castle's words going around and around in her mind. She was almost glad when a call came from Esposito saying that they had a case, it meant that she no longer had to pretend to be sleeping and she could take her mind off Castle. She was ready for the next step in their relationship but apparently he wasn't.

They were now at the precinct, going over the case and Beckett was tired due to the earlier than normal start and the fact that she'd had trouble sleeping. This meant that she was grumpy and was taking it out on Castle. Ryan and Esposito noticed something was obviously going on but neither of them said anything, not wanting to get on Beckett's bad side too. Both of them wondered what Castle had done but neither of them were game enough to ask.

Castle didn't know what was going on. He thought he'd done the right thing by taking back his question and they'd both just forget about it and move on but apparently that wasn't the case. Beckett had been basically ignoring him all morning, only speaking to him twice, once to say thank you for the coffee he'd brought for her and once to snap at him when he'd made a joke.

So now here they were, sitting silently in front of the murder board, trying to solve their latest case. Castle wanted to say something, to ask what was wrong, but he honestly didn't know how Beckett would react and he didn't want to make a scene at the precinct.

Honestly, he was scared that she was pulling away, like she'd finally realised how serious he was about their relationship and was now panicking as she wasn't as serious as him. That's why he'd retracted his question, wanting to show her that he'd wait and he was now regretting his outburst last night, wishing he'd kept his thoughts to himself.

As the day went by, things only got worse. Beckett became even more irritated with every little thing Castle did to the point where she told him angrily to just go home, they could solve the case without him.

Castle had had enough by then, he was getting angry at Beckett by this point, not entirely sure what he'd done to make her this upset and he wanted to know.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Beckett?" Castle asked, giving Beckett a pointed look.

"We can talk later, I have a case to solve," answered Beckett, really not in the mood for this right now.

"No, we can talk now," replied Castle, not moving to go home as he'd been earlier instructed. "I'm not leaving until we talk," continued Castle when Beckett had just ignored him.

She gave him an angry look before relenting, telling the boys she'd be back in a minute and following Castle down the corridor and into a deserted observation room. After locking the door behind her, she turned to Castle and waited for him to speak.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or just continue being mad at me until I figure out what I've done wrong?" asked Castle, deciding to get straight to the point.

"Castle, can we not do this here?" She'd rather not have a conversation where she admitted that she was ready for the next step in their relationship when he obviously wasn't but she certainly didn't want to have that sort of conversation at the precinct.

"Please Beckett, what's wrong?" asked Castle, reaching his hand out to touch her face but she took a step back, so she was now out of his reach.

She remained silent so Castle continued, "If this is about what I said last night, I said we can just forget about it. I know you're not ready for that sort of commitment, that I was moving too quickly."

"I'm not ready? You're the one that took it back," replied Beckett, the anger built up from the day coming out in her tone. He really couldn't see what was actually wrong, could he? He couldn't see how much his words had hurt her.

"What?" Now Castle was confused, he'd only done what he thought she wanted.

"You're the one who doesn't seem to be ready for the next step in our relationship, you're the one who took it back. You didn't even give me a chance to answer," replied Beckett. She wasn't going to run, this is what she wanted and she was going to fight for it, for him, for them. Even if that meant revealing her hand and showing she cared more, that she wanted more from their relationship and that she was ready.

"By the look of shock on your face, I knew what you were thinking, I knew what your answer would be," replied Castle. He didn't want to rush her but she had to know what he wanted from their relationship.

"Of course I was shocked, I didn't expect you to ask, not like that," answered Beckett. She'd been spending more and more time at the loft and had almost come to think of it as home but she thought when he did finally ask her to move in with him, it would be more planned, less of a spur of the moment thing.

"I didn't want to scare you away, I didn't want you to run," replied Castle, really not sure where Beckett was going with this.

"Run? Castle, you're the one who ran by taking back your question. What if I was going to say yes? Then what? Would you have just pretended it didn't happen? And then slowly started pulling away from me?" asked Beckett, not really sure where all this was coming from but she knew where it was leading, it was leading to them breaking up.

"Beckett, what are you even talking about?" asked Castle, thoroughly confused now.

"I'm talking about you and me clearly not being on the same page in our relationship and if this isn't what you want then maybe we should just end this now, before we get even more hurt." She knew breaking up with him would break her heart but it was better broken now than when she was even more emotionally invested although she couldn't be much more in this than she already was. She loved him more than she ever imagined she could feel for another person and even though she could already feel her heart cracking at the prospect of ending things with him, she couldn't bring herself to regret the nine months they were together because she had been happier than she had been in a very long time.  
She had tears in her eyes now and she couldn't stop the tear that escaped and rolled down her cheek.

"Oh, Kate," said Castle, reaching his hand out to wipe away the stray tear. He hadn't realised what his words had done to her, how she'd lost faith in them because he hadn't had enough faith in her.

She didn't step back this time as his hand came up to the side of her face and his thumb ran across her cheek, wiping the tear away. She was looking down now, not wanting to make eye contact with him, it would make this even harder.

"Don't you understand," continued Castle, "you're it for me Kate, there's no one else I'd rather spend the rest if my life with. And no, that's not a proposal, but one day I will propose but I don't want to rush you, and that's why I took it back, I didn't want to push you too far so soon in our relationship."

"I thought you regretted asking," replied Beckett, looking back at Castle as his words and their meaning sunk in. Castle cared for her as much as she cared for him and they were both in this forever.

"Never," said Castle, pulling Beckett close now, arms wrapping around her back as he hugged her tightly. She returned the hug, relieved that this conversation had taken a turn for the better. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle breaking up with Castle.

"Move in with me?" The same four words, mumbled into her hair again but this time, Beckett wasn't shocked and when she pulled back to look at Castle, she was grinning.

"Okay," said Beckett before grabbing the front of Castle's shirt and pulling him closer for a much needed kiss.

XXX

When Beckett and Castle returned to the bullpen not long later, they had to contain their smiles so no one would be suspicious. This was difficult because they were both so excited about the fact that they were moving in together.

Both Ryan and Esposito noticed the shift in Beckett's mood but were glad that whatever the problem between them was, it had been sorted out. They were still curious about what the problem was and they'd question Castle about it later but right now, they were just glad Beckett was happy again.

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I actually really enjoyed writing this one. Thoughts?


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